The Preview in Review: Part 3

Time for the Indiana and Purdue preview review. Those links will take you back to the previews we did back in August. We were new and didn't know what we were doing -- cut us some slack. We got it wrong, way wrong, for Indiana; but we hit the nail on the head with Purdue. Well, one of us did, at least.

We'll start with Indiana.

Indiana has eight (8!) home games this year, including four against non-conference powers such as Western Kentucky and Murray State. And to top it off, they don’t play Ohio State or Michigan this year. While they should feast on their weak non-conference opponents, they will still struggle in the Big11Ten.

Our prediction for Indiana: 7-5 (3-5 Big11Ten).

Back in the real world, the Hoosiers went 3-9 (1-7 Big11Ten). Maybe we were living in a fantasy world or something, but we thought they would at least put up a fight. Sure, they had a couple close games and one of their non-conference losses was to a MAC team that ended up doing very well (Ball State) -- but there were far too many blowouts and complete ineptitude on both sides of the ball.

To finish the season, Indiana was 10th in scoring offense and 11th in scoring defense. When you can't score and you got stop people from scoring, you know it's going to be a long season.

It was rough year for the whole team. Marcus Thigpen didn't do much in the backfield, rushing for only 631 yards and neither of the two quarterbacks who got significant time seemed to do much. Ben Chappell and Kellen Lewis both saw significant time at QB, sometimes during the same game, and Chappell getting some solo time when Lewis was out with an ankle injury.

In the preview we made mention that Indiana insisted there was a battle for the QB position that might be resolved until the first game of the season. Unfortunately, that battle may never have been resolved. Quarterback tandems never really work out like people hope and perhaps that may have attributed to Indiana's disappointing season.

So, yeah, Indiana was bad. We were clearly wrong.
But on the other hand, there was Purdue.

Here's what we said:

Purdue’s schedule isn’t as cakey as some in the Big11Ten, but they do luck out by not having to play Wisconsin. We do think they will win their rivalry game with Indiana, mostly to get back at this guy:


However, four of their first six games will be against Oregon, Notre Dame, Penn State and Ohio State. That’s not going to be a fun run for the Boilermakers. Boiler down.

Our prediction for Purdue: 4-8 (2-6 Big11Ten).

How did they finish? 4-8 (2-6 Big11Ten). Yeah, it was a lucky guess. We know.

One of the high points for Purdue probably took place when Chris Summers was trotting out on the field to knock down a 44 yard field goal that would have beat Oregon, who was ranked 16 at the time. If you remember Purdue's game against PSU this season, you probably remember how reliable of a kicker Chris Summers is.

Yeah, he's not.

So, long story short, he missed. Then he missed another in overtime, and Oregon punched one in. Hey, at least he's probably better than that guy out at Cal Poly.

After that, Purdue would beat Central Michigan before losing 5 in a row. They would get 2 more wins against Michigan and Indiana. That win at Indiana would end up being the last of the Joe Tiller era as he retired at seasons end.

After the trouncing of Indiana by a score of 62-10, we found this gem of a quote in the AP recap:

"It just means I'm going to have one more Miller Lite," Tiller said. "I was going to limit myself to 12 or 13. This game won't change my mind [on coming back]. I'm done with coaching."

Sure, it was against Indiana, but maybe if Purdue had played that inspired all season long things may have been different. They're always right on the cusp of being a good team, so hopefully they get it together soon.

Game 6 Recap: Penn State 20, Purdue 6

Actual text message conversation between WWTL writers (pfffft) during the game:

Greg, 1:11 pm: This game is poop.
Will, 1:12 pm: Agreed.

Hey, sometimes you win ugly. This was one of those times. Unlike Wisconsin, we know how to do that. Recap time.

1st Quarter

Joe was in the booth to start the game. The announcers say he was trying to demonstrate an onside kick in practice this week. That sounds like a really horrible idea.

The Lions kicked off to start the game. Purdue did little on their first possession, despite a 17-yard run by Curtis Painter that made us want to pull our hair out. After that play, running back Korey Sheets got stuffed and Painter threw two incompletions. Penn State ball.

The drive started well, as Clark immediately hit Williams for a 15-yard gain, and Royster followed it up with a 16-yard carry. Clark then hit Williams on a 9-yard pass. The next two plays would begin the frustration that we would feel on offense all day. Clark's attempted pass to Butler on second down was incomplete, and then Royster was stuffed on 3rd and 1. A promising drive ends in disappointing fashion.

After Boone popped one in the end zone, Purdue put together one of the weirder drives of the season, as they charged 10 plays for only 25 yards. Kory Sheets could do nothing on the drive, and Painter was sacked on a third and 2, and Purdue was forced to punt again.

It was deja-vu for the Lions on the ensuing possession as Royster picked up 9 yards on a rush on first down, but Williams and Royster were both stuffed on runs on second and third downs. Another punt.

Purdue got the ball on the 50 to start its next possession, and they continued to plod along with short completions and runs for basically no gain. The most boring quarter of football ever recorded ended with a third and 8 for Purdue on the Lions 25.

Trust us, it's growing.

2nd Quarter

Luckily, Aaron Maybin felt it necessary to sack Painter to start the 2nd quarter, which set up a 45-yard field goal for Chris Summers.

Wide right.

Penn State got the ball back and went to work. Clark completed passes to Butler and Williams, and Royster capped four straight rush plays with a 23-yard gain. After an incompletion and a 3-yard Royster run, Clark absolutely threaded one to Graham Zug on third and 7 for a 16-yard gain. It was first and goal from the 5.

Of course, Williams lost 2 yards on a carry after he slipped trying to change direction. This would be a running subplot throughout the day, as ESPN even showed a montage of Penn State players falling over. Never a good thing. Clark nearly fell over on the next play but managed to scoot a few yards forward to the 1. Dan Lawlor tried to make the leap on third down, but he did not get in. Clark appeared to try to sneak in on fourth down, but whistles had blown, requesting a review on the third down play.

We have no idea why this happened, because the third down play really wasn't close, but it worked out in our favor because we're not sure Clark got in on his sneak attempt. He did get in on his next try though. Finally on the board.

We're so pissed off it took this long, we're not even going to look for a picture.

7-0

Purdue got the ball back and tried to even the score. Sheets finally gained positive yardage, with runs of 5 and 16 yards to start off the drive. Painter had three completions, but the drive stalled as he got dropped for a rush of -2 yards at the Penn State 19. Surely Chris Summers could nail a 36-yard field goal, right?

NOPE. Wide left.

There was 3:41 left in the half, and Penn State wanted more points. Clark got locked in and threw 5 completions, with a couple runs scattered in between. The last completion went to Royster for 18 yards and it got the Lions to the Purdue 5-yard line. Then the team decided to rewind to 2006 and 2007 and not put up 6 in the red zone. Clark threw an incompletion, Cadogan took a false start penalty, Clark threw another incompletion, and Royster slipped and fell after a short pass from Clark. Fantastic. Kelly booted one home to mercifully end the half.

10-0

This is what it's come to? Photos of kickers?

-Halftime-

3rd Quarter

Penn State received the kickoff and put together another underwhelming drive to start the 3rd. Clark threw two completions for two first downs, but after two short gains by Royster, Clark couldn't hit Williams on third and 4. Punt.

On Purdue's drive, Kory Sheets ripped off another impressive 1-yard run, and Painter's attempt on third down was no good, and Purdue punted again. Really, a thrilling game.

Yawn

This time, though, the Lions wouldn't be stopped. They started on their own 39, but Clark hit Williams for 19 on first down. Royster had two carries for 10 and 12 yards, and Penn State had the ball on Purdue's 20. Clark was sacked for a loss of 5 and then rushed for a loss of 2, but hit Butler (who made a brilliant catch) for a clutch gain of 23 on third and 17. Royster decided he'd had enough of the team's bullshit attempt at offense today and took it in untouched from 4 yards out.

You guys are terrible.

17-0

Purdue drove for five plays and 29 before they had to punt. Stephfon Green had a couple nice rushes on Penn State's next drive, but they would punt after six plays. Purdue started their next drive on their own 7 yard line and just when it looked like they had some things going, Painter tossed an interception to Drew Astorino, who returned the ball all the way to the Purdue 30.

On a scale of 1 to 10, through three quarters, Painter was a solid -4.

A couple plays and the quarter was over.

4th Quarter

We rejoiced at the start of the 4th as we realized there was only 15 more minutes of this travesty remaining.

Clark hit Royster with a pass for a 23-yard gain, down to Purdue's 4-yard line. And as was the custom on this day, Penn State couldn't put it home from short yardage. An incompletion and 2 rushes for 1 yard brought on Kevin Kelly. It's up and good.

20-0
This is the worst we've ever felt after being up 20-0.

Joe Tiller obviously grades his QBs on the same scale we do, because he lifted Painter for Joey Elliot to start Purdue's next drive. And believe it or not, it worked. Purdue put together a very methodical 14-play, 82-yard drive to put up their first touchdown of the day, a 1-yard run by Sheets, a play after Eliot hit Desmond Tardy for a 19-yard gain on fourth and 10. Nice job by him.

20-7
Oh wait....

Chris Summers wanted to get rid of any chance of getting laid last night, and he did so by missing the extra point. Horrible day for that guy.

Are you kidding me?

20-6

Luckily for everyone, the third drive of the fourth quarter would be the last one. Royster went to work and had 3 rushes for 38 yards to start the drive. Green followed it up with an 8-yard rush, but Clark was sacked for a loss of 9. Clark found Royster on a screen on third and 11, and the dumbass ref gave the Lions the worst spot in the history of the game. Luckily, Clark sneaked it ahead on fourth and 1 and Penn State ran out the clock.

Game.
20-6

3 Big Stat Lines

• Evan Royster: 18 carries, 141 yds, 1 TD (rushing); 4 rec., 53 yds (receiving)
  
• Daryl Clark: 18-26, 220 yds (passing); 1 TD (rushing)
  
• Josh Hull: 11 tackles, 2 TFL
  

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

• There are always games like this in a season, you just have to be happy to get the win.
  
• It was boring as shit though.
• 4 scores on 4 red zone trips, but all 4 should've been touchdowns.
• Josh Hull responded nicely to the criticism.
• D did a nice job on the Purdue passing game. Longest pass completion for Painter was 25 yards, and Purdue had only 158 pass yards as a whole.
• Everyone was slipping out there.
• Royster was great as usual. The guy is consistent.
• We can't believe we're saying this, but we think more run plays should've been called in certain situations. Purdue's run D was non-existent and Royster was destroying people out there.
• Man would we love to see Norwood suit up next week.
  
• First huge game coming up.
  

Penn State Player of the Game: Evan Royster
Through five games, no one has come close to stopping Royster, and Saturday's game was no exception. Royster racked up 141 yards on only 18 carries, good for a 7.8 yards per carry average. If he has another game like this against Wisconsin next weekend, screw giving him mention within the conference, he should be getting some national pub. If you still think Beanie Wells and Javon Ringer are superior, good for you, but we feel just fine with Royster lining up in the backfield.

Purdue Player of the Game: Kicker Chris Summers
Not really.

Game 6 Preview: Penn State @ Purdue

Gametime: 12:00 pm

Records: Penn State: 5-0 (1-0), Illinois: 2-2 (0-0)

Series Record: Penn State leads, 9-3-1

TV: ESPN

Audio: Here

Weather: Sunny, 0% chance of rain, high of 70. Nice.

Last week we broke down Penn State's offensive unit against the Illinois D and vice versa. This week, we think a couple of nice, short bullet points will illustrate some things (if you read the roundtable.... act like you didn't for a minute).

Purdue Stat Rankings:

• 11th in the conference in pass defense (244.8 ypg)
• 11th in the conference in run defense (194.5 ypg)
• 10th in the conference in scoring defense (26.2 ppg)
• 11th in the conference in rushing offense (125.8 ypg)
• 1st in the conference in passing offense (278.2 ypg)
  

Obviously when you play in a conference called "The Big Ten" and you are 11th in a lot of statistical categories, that's not good. And I'm sure of all you know by now that we are first in the conference in scoring offense (yes, it's been mentioned once or twice or 5,000 times in the national media this week). So, without getting too in-depth here, we like our chances on offense.

Of course, as some of you astute readers may have observed, one of those numbers is not like the other. Purdue can light it up through the air, and they have some major weapons in the passing game. A trio of seniors leads the way. Quarterback Curtis Painter can chuck the ball around very nicely, as he has 1,113 yards and 5 touchdowns through the air so far this season. Wide receiver Desmond Tardy and tight end Greg Orton are Painter's favorite targets, as they've combined for 48 receptions and 653 yards.

So obviously, Purdue can air it out. But that's Joe Tiller's system, that's their game, and it has only worked out to the tune of a 2-2 record this season. As you can see, their offense is not balanced well, as they barely have a running game. So the task for the defense is simple: shut down the passing game. The Lions are second in the conference with 15 sacks so far, so if they can continue to get into the backfield and disrupt Painter, the secondary's job will be easier. The defense was not stellar last week, but we think they'll be focused on the pass game this week and they'll get the job done.


Purdue Player To Watch: Wide Receiver Greg Orton
Orton is one of the big targets out wide for Painter. He was the leading receiver returning from last year's squad, and while Tardy has emerged as a legitimate threat, Orton is still a beast at 6'3" and 199. The secondary will have to put a lot of effort in taking him out of the game.

Penn State Player(s) To Watch: Derrick Williams
Hey, we could pick a lot of guys for this. Royster would be a great candidate because of the Purdue run D. But this is completely out of respect for Williams' insane performance last week. He needs to keep it up and be the leader of the offense, especially with Norwood still questionable for the game. Williams can affect the game in so many ways, and he really can change games. We're looking for another big performance from #2.

3 Bold Predictions:

• Royster will have 150 yards on the ground, to go with his 2 TDs
  
• Daryl Clark will pass for 2 touchdowns and rush for another
  
• Joe Tiller will really start looking forward to fishing
  

Other Notes:

• Penn State is 4-2 all time at Ross-Ade Stadium

To sum everything up, we think that Purdue may put up some points, but they will come late in an effort to catch up. The Penn State offense is going to continue to roll, and look for a giant game from Evan Royster and also for Derrick Williams to continue the fireworks from last week. Sorry Purdue fans, looks like the train is about to be derailed.

Uh-oh.

Game Prediction: Penn State 38, Purdue 21

2008 Preview: Purdue

2007: 8-5 (3-5 in Big11Ten), Beat Central Michigan in Motor City Bowl.

Purdue. We tried to write something snappy or funny or interesting here about Purdue. But in all honesty, what is there to say? We know the book on them by now. They chuck the ball all over the field, they don’t play a ton of defense, and unless Drew Brees discovers he has another year of eligibility and wants to come back to start at QB, they’re probably not going to contend for the conference title.

It is coach Joe Tiller’s last season this year, and that is notable because he brought the gunslinging spread offense to the conference with him 13 years ago. Can that offense put up massive points sometimes? Yes. Does it usually work on the conference’s elite teams? No. Purdue led the Big11Ten in scoring offense last season, and while they gave Penn State a bit of a scare, they were only 3-5 in conference play. While it would be nice for Tiller to go out with a bang, things aren’t looking up for the folks in West Lafayette.

One thing Purdue has going for them is their quarterback, senior Curtis Painter. He’s probably the safest bet in the conference to be a solid QB this year, as he’s flourished in the spread during his career, to the tune of over 8,700 career passing yards. He had 3,846 last year alone. While those aren’t quite Graham Harrell numbers, they’re pretty good for the Big11Ten. As Painter goes, so goes the offense, and as long as he’s at the helm, Purdue’s scoring numbers should flourish.

Unfortunately for Painter, he’s missing two big targets from last year in receiver Dorien Bryant and tight end Dustin Keller, who combined for 155 receptions, over 1,800 yards and 15 touchdowns. Ouch. Dustin Keller is actually now catching passes from this unidentified man:

People from Wisconsin are starting to cry.

However, senior Greg Orton had 67 catches for 752 yards last year, and seniors Joe Whitest and Aaron Valentin combined for 10 touchdowns last year. So Painter will still have a lot of experience to work with at wideout.

Senior Corey Sheets returns at running back this year after a pretty solid junior campaign of 895 yards (5.1 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns. And, of course, we're all familiar with backup Jaycen Taylor:

Whoops. Wrong Jason Taylor.

Actually, Purdue's Taylor averaged 5.2 yards per carry last year but tore his ACL in a recent practice and is out for the year.

As for the offensive line, Purdue returns three starters in Sean Sester, Zach Reckman and Zach Jones. Unfortunately, all three missed time in the spring with injuries. If they can all hold up through the season, Purdue should be lighting things up on offense as usual. If not, Painter’s senior season could be a painful one.

If there was ever a defense we knew nothing about before the season, it would be Purdue’s (hey, unlike E!SPN, at least we admit that we don’t know what we’re talking about). But after extensive research (define that as you wish), we found that the defense that was very middle-of-the-pack last year should offer about the same this year.

The D is anchored by senior linebacker Anthony Heygood. The Butkus award hopeful racked up 81 tackles (15 for a loss) last season. New starters Kevin Green (junior) and Jason Werner (senior) join Heygood to make up the linebacking corp. The D-line appears to be in solid shape, with three returning starters in seniors Ryan Baker, Alex Magee and Keyon Brown. Sophomore Ryan Kerrigan will be the newcomer on the line and will try to help improve the 148 yards rushing per game that Purdue surrendered last year. Junior David Pender will anchor the defensive backfield as the team’s top cornerback.

Purdue’s schedule isn’t as cakey as some in the Big11Ten, but they do luck out by not having to play Wisconsin. We do think they will win their rivalry game with Indiana, mostly to get back at this guy:


However, four of their first six games will be against Oregon, Notre Dame, Penn State and Ohio State. That’s not going to be a fun run for the Boilermakers. Boiler down.

Our prediction for Purdue: 4-8 (2-6 Big11Ten).